1. Technical Field
This invention relates to paver and brick edgings, and the laying of brick and paving stones and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is often desirable to cover a substrate, such as a terrestrial substrate like soil, sand, or gravel, with paving stones, bricks, and the like. The paving stones, bricks, or similar building materials thus provide a paved region. The paved surface may abut another region, such as a grassy lawn, a garden, or other soil, sand, or gravel-based region. When such a paving surface is installed, an edging or restraint may be simultaneously installed to maintain the paving stones within the region defined by the restraint. The edging reduces the likelihood that paving stones or bricks will shift horizontally as a result of traffic, or as a result of shifting of the underlying terrestrial substrate. These edgings may, once installed adjacent the paved region, protrude from the ground or may be completely concealed by grass, soil, sand, gravel, or other materials.
Installation of such restraints or edgings typically requires that the edging be shaped to fit the boundary of the region to be paved, before it can be laid on the terrestrial substrate and fixed in place. Prior art edgings thus include rigid edgings, which are generally provided with a reinforced structure to support a substantially straight boundary defined by pavers, and flexible edgings, which may be bent to conform with a curved boundary. Installation is thus complicated by the curves or irregular shapes of a boundary, as two different types of edgings are frequently needed to edge an entire boundary. Further, even if an edging can be bent or even cut to conform with an irregular boundary, the edging piece or pieces must be first cut and/or bent to fit a segment of the boundary, then laid in place along the boundary and checked; if the edging does not conform to the desired boundary, it must be removed, reshaped or cut further, and replaced, perhaps several times, until it conforms to the desired boundary and can be fixed in place.
It would accordingly be advantageous to provide an edging that facilitates installation by allowing the edging to be shaped and reshaped without requiring removal from its place along the boundary.